Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulations (continued) Chapter 6

1. Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulations(continued)Chapter 6 • Lecture 14 • 7 February 2005

2. Credit: www.physicalgeography.net Wind simply put, wind is the horizontal flow of air in response to differences in air pressure these pressure differences are usually due to uneven solar heating at the surface ‘heat rises’ wind flows because of pressure gradient

3. Four forces that determine winds 1. Gravity - pulls gas molecules close to Earth density & pressure decrease with height 2. Pressure gradient force - the difference in air pressure between areas 3. Coriolis force - deflects wind from a straight line to the right or left depending on hemisphere 4. Friction force - the drag on air flow from the Earth’s surface

4. Pressure Gradient Force

5. Pressure Gradient Force and Isobars if there were no other forces acting on wind, it would flow in straight lines (perpendicular to isobars) from high to low pressure zones

6. Coriolis Force (just the facts) • Rotation of Earth acts to deflect any motion from a straight line • Deflection is to right (NH) to the left (SH) • Coriolis “force” act on a right angle to the motion • Coriolis Force is NOT a real “force” but is caused by viewing motion on a rotating planet

7. The Coriolis Force affects air flow in response to pressure gradients in the atmosphere Figure Credit: “Earth’s Climate” by W. Ruddiman

8. geostrophic winds - PGF and Coriolis forces are opposite and balanced the CF deflects the wind to the right until upper tropospherewind flows parallel to isobars ~7km Credit: www.physicalgeography.net

9. Friction Force Surface friction reduces wind speed and the effects of the Coriolis force Friction causes winds to move across isobars at an angle The friction force operates only in the bottom 0.5-1 km of the atmosphere, and it acts opposite to the direction of motion

10. PGF + Coriolis + Friction Forces

11. Figure Credit: “Earth’s Climate” by W. Ruddiman

12. Show shockwave 27_WindPatDev.swf

13. Useful things to remember • Coriolis Force • Acts to the right of motion (left in SH) • Not a real force – matter of perspective • Geostrophic wind –upper troposphere/ocean • Horizontal pressure & Coriolis forces balance • Winds go ALONG isobars • Surface friction – lower troposphere • Enables CROSS isobar flow

14. Useful things to remember • Low pressure cells • Less dense –humid • Circulation is counter-clockwise (NH) – cyclonic • Convergent near ground –rising air masses • High pressure cells • More dense – dry • Circulation is clockwise (NH) – anticyclonic • Divergent near ground – descending air masses

16. average density of air is 1.3 kg/m^3 average molecular weight of air is ~29 g/mol Heating & Humidity in Tropics solar heating in the tropics expands air and decreases its density - leading to increased buoyancy It also gets more humid (adding water vapor) How would this change the average molecular weight of air? what happens to air density if you add water vapor?

17. Convection on your Stove

18. Convection on Earth

19. Credit: http://ess.geology.ufl.edu/ess/Notes/AtmosphericCirculation/convect.jpeg Warm, moist air rises and is replaced by cooler drier air from other sites

20. as this air rises, it cools and water condenses out, leading to intense precipitation

21. A satellite (GOES) view of the ITCZ over the eastern Pacific InterTropical Convergence Zone Credit: http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~jeff/wallpaper/itcz_goes11_lrg.jpg

22. the position of the ITCZ tracks the sun (it is in the summer hemisphere) - the location of the ITCZ determines the rainy season in many tropical countries, especially those in Africa the horizontal winds within the ITCZ are calm - the doldrums

23. Credit: NASA JPL The C in ITCZ the intense uplift of air creates horizontal pressure gradients at the surface as a result, winds converge towards the equator from both hemispheres what about the complete cycle - where does the uplifted air go?

25. Equator-to-pole cross section of circulation

26. Hadley cell circulation this circulation refers to the complete circulation of rising air in the tropics, descending air over 30 °N and °S, and trade winds converging at the equator the descending branch of the Hadley circulation brings warm, dry air to the surface leading to high pressure & reduced precipitation

27. Subtropical high-pressure cells these cells occur where the tropical air descends in either hemisphere

29. Equator-to-pole cross section of circulation

30. Jet Streams Figure 6.18

31. Show shockwave 04_GlobalWinds.swf

32. Figure Credit: http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~joel/g110_w03/chapt10/vorticity/agburt2_10_07.jpg

33. Monsoon Circulation Figure Credit: “Earth’s Climate” by W. Ruddiman

34. Monsoon Circulation Figure Credit: “Earth’s Climate” by W. Ruddiman

35. Monsoon Circulation Figure Credit: physicalgeography.net

36. Asian monsoon intense, dry winds flow from the Asian interior in response to the gradient between the continental high pressure & equatorial (ITCZ) low pressure

37. Asian monsoon in summer, the ITCZ shifts north, reversing the pressure gradient – winds flow from the Indian ocean & gain moisture

38. Daytime land-sea breeze results from differential heating of land and sea - not from radiation differences - but from the different specific heats of land and water

39. Nighttime land-sea breeze at night, the land cools more rapidly than the sea and thus overlying air becomes more dense and has a higher pressure

40. What time of day would you go jogging in Los Angeles? WHY?